Loquitur
Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004
The
Perspectives Point counter point Page 11
Cabrini College’s Student Newspaper
Radnor, Pa.
www.theLoquitur.com
Sports
Dance, cheerleading shake up midnight madness Page 15
Vol LXI, Issue 6
Why young people don’t vote? LAUREN REILLY NEWS EDITOR LMR722@CABRINI.EDU Young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 make up 40.7 million, or 21 percent, of the eligible voters in the United States; however, in the 2000 presidential election, only 46 percent of voters meeting the age qualification marked their ballots. Being the year of a presidential election, countless organizations encourage the registration and participation of American citizens to exercise their right to vote—the promotion of involvement is ubiquitous. Despite the efforts of the innumerable associations dedicated to inform, intrigue and implicate, many young Americans entitled to vote choose not to. Although the right to vote is frequently overlooked by some, the privilege has drastically evolved. Changes began in 1870 with the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which stated that the right to vote must not be denied to anyone based on race, color or previous conditions of servitude. However, many states continued to disenfranchise minority voters until the approval of the Civil Rights Act in 1965 that codified the 15th Amendment, clarifying the prohibition of discriminatory infractions, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, which some states
KRT
Student organizations help their peers register to vote
practiced in order to establish white supremacy. In 1971, just years after the 15th Amendment modifications, Congress passed the 26th Amendment, reducing the qualification of the voting age to 18 in all federal, state and local elections. Prior to these principle alterations, in 1920, the ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Though these laws were new to the previous generation, many young adults have not begun to utilize these freedoms. The U.S. Census Bureau surveyed people who did not vote in the 1996
presidential election and determined some common reasons why adults between the ages of 18 and 29 evaded the polls. The results showed that 21.5 percent reported being too busy, 16.6 percent were not interested in the election, 14.9 percent were unable to vote due to illness or an emergency, 13.7 percent did not like the candidates and 34 percent had other reasons. Dr. Jolyon Girard, a history and political science professor, thinks that many young adults do not relate to modern politics. “Young people don’t see the issues as fundamentally affecting
them,” Girard said. Subjects such as Social Security, Medicare and homeownership, which are more so forthcoming matters, may not be of concern to younger Americans, consequently discouraging their interest in becoming informed of each candidate’s position. History and political science department Chairman Dr. James Hedtke agrees that the political ignorance of the apathetic individual hinders their ability to relate to many of the issues discussed by the candidates. Hedtke also believes that parents have a major influence on new potential
SGA distribute budget Espada reads amongst organizations poetry KRISTIN AGOSTINELLI STAFF WRITER KMA724@CABRINI.EDU
Fifteen student organizations divided up more than $9,000 for fall semester activities following the Student Government Organization (SGA) meeting on Friday, Oct. 1st. Throughout the meeting, SGA members discussed how much money would be given out to each organization. The guidelines and procedures for delegating the distribution of money were similar to those in previous years. Unlike last year’s budget, there was more money to be divided up amongst the organizations. This year there was $12,000 to be given out compared to last year’s $ 7,000. The total amount requested by the organizations was $9,255, and that was the total amount granted,
leaving $2,745 for the spring semester. There are many different steps that are involved in deciding which student organizations are approved and which organizations receive the most money. Students wanting to create their own organization or club must first get a packet containing a registration form from the Student Organization Funding Committee (SOFC). Then students must fill this out and return it to SOFC. The deadline for this was Sept. 17. Afterwards, organizations had to have their proposals to the Student Activities Office by Sept. 24 and make an appointment for a SOFC hearing. Organizations should have made an appointment on the 27, 28, or 29 of September to have a committee review of the proposals. During this, the clubs present why they requested the amount of money
they needed. On Thursday, Oct. 1, there was a general assembly meeting and the budget was approved by the SOFC, but Jason Bozzone, the director of student activities, approved the final budget, on Oct. 4. The veteran student organizations include finance association, history/political science club, Ethnic Student Alliance (ESA), Latinos Unidos, psychology club, roller hockey club, search club, ski club and sociology club. Added to the roster this year were the college Republicans, Habitat for Humanity, the Honors Club, religious studies and Up ‘Til Dawn. Each organization received their requested amount of money this year, with Up ‘Til Dawn receiving the most, $2,000. Many organizations received a SGA, page 3
voters. “The key to how you’ll vote is how your parents vote,” Hedtke said. “If your parents are partisan, you’ll be partisan.” However, Hedtke points out that those who have parents that do not vote are more likely not to take part in the election process as well. Kristen Tharan, a junior elementary education major, is not a registered voter and attests to Girard and Hedtke’s conception of younger eligible voters. “Honestly, at this age, I’m not interested in politics. Even if I did register, I wouldn’t know who to vote for,” Tharan, said. Another reason that individuals choose not to vote is based off their indifferent preference towards both the candidates and their issues. Ian Dahlgren, a junior graphic design major, does not have a strong stance on either candidate and is weary about making a choice just for the sake of voting. “I would vote. I’m interested in bits and pieces of what they say, but neither candidate really appeals to me,” Dahlgren said. As a result of this public uncertainty, Girard said that many voters in this year’s election will either “vote for Bush or against Bush.” Ray Croce, a junior history VOTE, page5
Inside
PAUL NASELLA STAFF WRITER PJN722@CABRINI.EDU Martin Espada, an awardwinning Puerto Rican-American, gave a poetry reading and book signing in the Widener Center lecture hall as a means of helping students understand the immigration issues that many professors are integrating into their courses this year. Espada, who presented on the behalf of the Office of Student Activities, Academic Affairs, the English department, the Spanish department as well as the Academic-Intellectual Resource Exchange (AIRE), read selected poems from his seventh collection of ESPADA, page 3
A&E Cabrini takes over the parkway page 7
Feaures Students Experience convergence first hand